Broken Spirit
by PreedexYoa
Summary: This is my actual sequel story about Preed and how he could survive in the Titan. After nearly every fan made one, i had to make one too. It s a pretty long and dark story but it gives Preed a new chance to change his life. After dragged through hell, he found someone who saves his life.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **Preed, Stith and Gune, the species Akrennian, Gepoan, Mantrin and the Guard aliens belong to Don Bluth and the movie Titan AE.  
I gave the guard alien species the name 'Pikad' or 'Picad' which is now actually their species name to identify them. The two Akrennian girls Dala and Bibi, also the slave trader and some other short role characters are my characters.

Just something about why I named the guard Alien species in the movie 'Pikad'. It´s a kind of shorter name for 'Pig-Head'. They always looked like aliens with a head similar to a pig because they have boar like fangs, a pig nose and a pinkish skin. The only thing which lets them look dangerous and evil are their big devil-like horns which they carry on their head where their ears should be placed.

**Broken Spirit**

**..**

**..**

Chapter 1 - Captured

..

It was silent when it happened.

None has noticed anything, not even the vessel's engines turning on.  
All were just so astonished while that huge ship worked on the process to form a new planet.  
None had anything better to watch anyway, so why would they care?  
He was dead. At least to them he was. But they didn´t know he got away. Again.  
He always managed to get away with what little luck he had in life.  
The _Phoenix _was small compared to the _Titan_.

In the great movies, the bad guys always get what they deserve. In real life it´s the same, but judgment day takes it's time mostly.  
Since he survived another time, he had no idea how he could end up like this.  
His memories were gone since he made a stop at another trashy space port to get some goods and having some drinks at a bar.  
For the first time of his life, he wished he died onboard the _Titan_.  
Just like Korso, his former Captain who didn´t made it and got killed.  
Preed didn´t know it yet. To him they were all still very much alive, cheering about their new stupid planet.

Korso never cared for a new planet.  
All he was ever interested in, was money and how to get it the easiest way.  
That was the only reason he searched for that damn ship. But since Korso betrayed his only ideologies, Preed figured he never knew his former Captain as well as he thought.  
He had some good times with him and missed him, especially since he ended up like this.

After he went back to the ship again, he only remembered how all things went blurry and turned dark.  
Now that he woke up again, he found himself in a small room which seemed to be a cell or something.  
It was dirty overall and the walls and floor looked like someone pinned smaller and bigger metal pieces together. It was dark and only a small ceiling window let some light into the small room.  
Preed tried to move but he soon noticed, his hands were bound together. Two metal cuffs were bound tightly around his wrists and when he tried to get up, another rope pulled him down again.  
The rope was knotted on a ring integrated into the floor. The other end knotted on a metal collar around his neck.

'Where the hell am I?!' he thought all the time, now realizing he was in serious trouble.

He shouted for help and it didn´t take long until someone heard the screams and got their attention.  
Preed soon fell silent again when he heard some steps outside.  
'I have done nothing...Maybe it wasn´t that good an idea' he thought.  
Some pearls of sweat began to form on his neck and forehead.  
The door right in front of him opened. Preed didn´t see anything, but due to the sound of a lock, he guessed someone would come in now. He couldn´t see anything because the light behind the door fell inside the room and blinded him.

"Shut up, none will hear you anyway...except for me, but I won't let you out till we arrive!" a scratchy voice shouted.

"Well, you could at least tell me why I am here. How I remember, playing prisoner wasn´t on my 'to-do-list'!" Preed barked at the silhouette.

The owner of the scratchy voice laughed: "You aren´t here to 'play' my prisoner, but you will help me getting some money very soon! If you want me to be nice to you, watch your tongue, Akrennian!"  
Preed growled, but the door slammed shut, leaving him in the dark of the room again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Broken Spirit**

**..**

**..**

Chapter 2 - Supposed to be a slave now

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It took a while after Preed had a small glimpse on what should be his destination for the next time, but when it popped into his mind like a flash, his jaw dropped open and his eyes widened.

"No, that can´t be true! Not this! All, but please not this!" he thought to himself.

There is nothing worse for an Akrennian than ending up at someone's house playing the "slave".  
Preed has seen some Akrennian slaves before, but never thought about becoming one!  
Since his species was known for being haughty and proud, they don´t give up that easily and won't live long as slaves either.  
He has heard of Akrennians who had become victims of suicide which is not common in Akrennian culture.  
Their "spirits" were broken and they couldn´t take their situation any longer.  
But none ever could tell if they did it because of their broken souls or because of the torture they had to endure while their owners tried to break their souls.

Preed never was brave, especially when spotting a chance for getting away with his skin intact.  
But also for the fact he knew himself well. He never lost the pride about his own person and species.  
Now all things seemed to be different.  
Preed was cold, his skin was freezing and he curled up on the hard floor.

The small vessel of the slave trader made its way through a pipe-shaped tunnel.  
It was the entering tunnel for smaller ships and led into a huge hangar where many people docked their craft.  
They arrived on _Maros_, a huge trader ship where people can get new supplies and do all kinds of business.  
Slave trading also has a huge market here.

Preed woke up after some steps were heard from outside.  
He set up again and brushed off some dust.

"Now you just get what you deserve you little...!" he just thought.  
The door opened and the slave trader came in to untie his "goods".

"Now, did you sleep well, Mr. Akrennian?!" the slave trader asked.

Preed looked up at the guy who appeared to be much shorter than himself and kinda round like a fuzzy ball. His fangs were showing while he grinned down at him. Preed could hear that scratchy voice again. It was unnerving, sending the shivers up his spine. But he was not planning to let himself be intimidated. The Akrennian only let out a growl.

"You really think, I will follow your stupid rules?" Preed growled.

The slave trader grabbed the rope and pulled him out of the room. "You will very soon! Now shut up!" was all he said.

Standing up straight, Preed was two heads taller than that guy.

"The hell, I won't! You don´t want to know what I say, so it gives me reason to say what I think even more!" Preed had a grin on his face.  
"And because of this I am sure, I have a LOOOT to say during the next time...I also will tell the guy you will sell me to, how much I am disappointed about this all...and I am sure that none will buy me for a proper price as you would expect. Haha, this will ruin your little witty business for sure and.." but before Preed could continue with his waterfall of spreading words, the slave trader put another metal cuff right around his snout.

"Now SHUT UP!" the slave trader said, pulling the rope even more letting Preed nearly fall down.

Preed grumbled and murmured his thoughts. Even though you couldn´t understand it, it was clearly noticeable that this Akrennian didn´t want to shut up.

They left the ship now and crossed the hangar.  
Preed looked around seeing many people of different species walking and hurrying past them.

He has been at such places before.  
The last time he visited the huge trader vessel _Soros_ where he, Stith and Korso tried to rescue Akima. She was kept as a slave in one of the many cells.  
Preed never thought about playing a slave trader before, because he had bad experiences with them and didn´t know their culture.  
But because Korso was human, and humans usually never were slave traders, but victims, Korso wanted him doing this part. He was the first mate, and would be appreciated for handling this job.  
But he failed because he wasn´t good enough at playing his role.  
Now he was the slave again and didn´t have any idea how to get out of it.

He just thought he never wanted to be sold again, like he once was back when he was young. There won´t be another Joseph Korso around who would buy him and save his life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Broken Spirit**

**..**

**..**

Chapter 3 - Unchained Heart

..

Preed saw himself ending up in one of those cells where he and the other crew members found Akima.  
But the small streets where he was going along after the guy who captured him didn´t look like one of those big selling halls, but more like a private area.  
Since he couldn´t say anything, he couldn´t ask the slave trader where he led him.  
They stopped in front of a building which was shaped like a huge wall.  
The small street didn´t let much light fall into the place because right at the other side was another similar huge building.  
In the middle of the building was a small door with a lock in front of it.

"You will stay with me since you aren´t willing to behave like a slave yet!" the chubby small slave trader said.

Preed rolled his eyes while he followed the guy into the house.  
The rooms were small and Preed had trouble standing up straight without touching the ceiling with his ear, so he had to bow down a bit.

"This is good for you, to learn how a slave keeps its pose!" he said.

If looks could kill. Preed was annoyed and angry about how the trader talked about him. 'I am not a 'thing'!' he thought.

He never had trouble with how slaves have been treated by other people.  
But since someone put him into a role of one- even though his daily life as a slave hadn't even begun yet- made him sick.  
Better to not be on the wrong side.  
Yes that term really means a lot!  
The trader pulled on the rope leading Preed into another small room.  
Not even a window there. It looked like a dungeon.  
Only a small bank, a toilet and another one of those rings integrated into the wall was all the luxury a slave was allowed to have.  
The slave trader knotted the rope to the ring.  
Preed tried to fumble on the rope from the collar so he could try to run free again, but it didn´t work.  
The metal cuffs on his wrists numbed his fingers until they felt like dead weight.  
He also tried to bite on the rope but since his teeth were not sharp enough, it didn´t make any sense. He couldn´t move his jaws anyway.  
When the slave trader left the room, Preed sat down onto the bank.

'At least the room is clean and doesn´t smell' he thought.

One hour passed.  
It did feel like a couple of hours.  
The door opened again and the trader entered the room.  
He carried in a little tray with some food and a cup of water.  
After he sat it down on the floor, he used a small key to open the metal cuff around Preed's snout and took it away.  
Preed looked down at the tray, then looked back at the trader with an ironic face expression.

"Before you say anything, you should be happy that you have this all! I can´t promise your new owner will keep you like this! So shut up and eat!" The slave trader didn´t want to have his "money" talk rubbish again, so he interrupted Preed's thoughts.

Then he left the room.  
Preed had a surprised look on his face now, but right after the door closed again, he jumped off his seat and grabbed the cup of water.  
It was gone with one single gulp.  
Then he grabbed at the food which reminded him of a kind of bread he knew from his home planet.  
It was baked for sure, but dry and didn´t taste that good.

'Better use this stuff as earplugs' he thought rolling his eyes.

He laid it down to the tray again and went back to the bank.

"Hey! You could at least leave a cover inside! That bed is damn hard!" he shouted at the door.  
But even after ten minutes there was no reply or reaction whatsoever. Not that he expected them to.  
Finally bored and tired he fell asleep.

...

The next morning was up.  
Preed has noticed it since there were some steps outside and it didn´t take long for the trader to open the door again.  
As he entered the room, the Akrennian was sitting up on the bank.

"Did you have a good night, Mr. Akrennian?" the slaver asked while untying the rope from the wall. "How I see, the 'Paol' didn´t taste that well" he said while he looked down at the tray which hadn't been touched since last evening.

"I have eaten worse things which had tasted better than this" Preed said looking away.

The slave trader slowly lost his patience with the Akrennian. "Don´t step too far, or you will regret your acting very soon!" he screeched.

Preed started laughing. "Well, I wanna see you beating me down, you little fuzz ball!"

If the "little fuzz ball" wouldn't have had a furred head, you could have seen how his skin turned red in anger.  
"That´s enough! I won't beat you, I am just the guy who sells you. But before I even dare to show you to my customers, I will get you visiting a good friend of mine, who will get those flaws out of your manners!"

By that the slave trader kept the rope even more tight in his hand and pulled Preed out of the room.  
He tried to stay, but since the small guy was much more massive and strong, he didn´t have a chance and had to follow.  
Before they left the dreadful place, Preed got the metal cuff around his snout again. "Not that you get the idea to talk to strangers!"  
The ears of the Akrennian dropped and he had an annoyed look in his eyes.

They exited the house and entered the street which still bathed in the same strange light.  
You couldn´t tell what time of the day it was.  
But after they came into the bigger streets, the sunlight let the buildings, goods and people shine in their true colors. It looked like it was near midday when they reached another trashy building.  
Above the door was a huge sign with the letters "Trouble-slave" onto it.  
Preed had no idea what that would mean.  
The slave trader knocked at the door and very soon it opened.  
A huge guy appeared and he had a big grin on his face.

"Hello, nice to meat you!" the Pikad said and led both of them in.  
Pikads were a huge species, much taller and stronger than any Akrennian Preed ever met.  
Those aliens are common on each space port and often work as guards of any form or as patrol to keep the streets clean from trouble makers.  
Preed had experiences with them before. And those were not good experiences for sure!  
It´s better to call them "friend" and not "enemy" because when picked as their enemy, they didn't have any mercy.  
He gulped when looking at the tall man.

"What leads you to me this time?" the Pikad asked the slave trader.

The trader laughed slightly: "Isn´t that obvious? Look what I got a couple of days ago!"  
Showing the Akrennian like a "good" he found right in front of the Pikad.

"You have trouble with a slave? How come? Usually you visit me for a cup of 'Golc', but not for business." he laughed slightly.

"Well, this Akrennian slave makes me some trouble. He needs to be 'tamed' if you know what I mean."  
Preed rolled his eyes by the stupidity of both of them.

"Sure thing, that´s my business. But are there any reasons he wears a snout cuff?" the Pikad asked.  
"How I know, Akrennians don´t have sharp fangs like your species."

The slaver reached into his pocket and pulled out a little key. "Here, you can take it off. It´s just annoying when he talks."

The Pikad had to laugh and man, he had a loud voice!  
Preed looked away, wishing they wouldn´t talk about him.

"Just do what you have to, but try to keep him alive! I heard Akrennians are sensitive when you break their spirit!" the slaver said.

"No problem. I have done it with many of them before. Never had trouble. This one won't be an exception." the Pikad said, taking the key and the rope, pulling the Akrennian next to him. "You can get him back tomorrow!"

The door closed after the slaver left the house again. Preed looked at the tall guy.

"So you are the one who dares to make some trouble and won't behave like the damn thing you are?! In our society we call stuff like you 'the unchained heart' and believe me, you probably go the easy way if you would do what your owner expects from you!" the Pikad growled at Preed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Broken Spirit**

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**..**

Chapter 4 - Rivers of red

..

Preed felt very uncomfortable while that huge guy was present.  
But due to the Pikad having a job to do and wanting to get paid for his services, he surely wouldn't leave very soon.  
Maintaining a firm grip on the rope, he pulled the Akrennian into another room.

"You will see, we can do this the easy way or the hard way" the Pikad said with a smile. "But since your current owner brought you to me, you prefer the hard way"

He grabbed a metal chain which was dangling down from the ceiling and locked the end at one of the metal cuffs around Preed's wrists.  
The same thing happened to another metal chain and his other wrist.  
Preed tried to set his fist into the face of the Pikad but it didn´t work.  
It was as if the Pikad did expect each try before Preed even thought about acting.  
It all ended with him facing a wall, his arms hanging up away from his torso and his feet chained to the ground.

"You have to know, I never work alone. With my job, I always have to expect slaves trying to defend and overwhelm me, so I have some pals who will help me while I am working with you!" the Pikad said while two other guys of the same species entered from behind.

Preed tried to look at them, bending his neck into their direction.  
He growled at them and gave them a deathly glare.  
The Pikad came closer to the tied up Akrennian to show him that he wasn't able to do anything except to give up.

"This is your chance to be polite and fit your role!" he said. Preed had only one answer to this. He spat right into the Pikad's face.  
"I guess this was a 'no'" he said with a slightly annoyed grin on his face: "Nice, we didn´t have a slave spitting like that since some years now" he said, wiping off his face. The Pikad snapped his fingers to get the attention of the other two who were assisting him.

"Pull off that shirt and remove the snout cuff, I wanna hear his screams!" the Pikad said while dropping the key into the slightly smaller assistant's hand.

'Screams? What the hell is he getting at?' now Preed didn´t feel so good about his acting anymore. He felt how his heart sank and his whole body became weak. It was the pure fear which raced through his veins.  
He did feel this many times in his life before, but always hated it.

The assistant Pikads came to him. One of them with the key in his right hand using to take off the snout cuff, the other one with a pocket dagger to cut off his dirty shirt.  
Right after Preed's mouth was free, the words spread out of him.

"Hell what did you do to my shirt! I don´t have another one!"  
"This sorry rest of a shirt shouldn´t be missed. You will get a new one after Bol is done with you" one of the assistant said.  
"Who the heck is 'Bol'?" Preed asked.  
"Just turn you head, you fool!" The other one of the assistant said.

Preed turned his head and saw how the Pikad who gave the instructions came back into the room with an overall black robe, carrying a leather whip in one of his hands.  
Preed's eyes widened in fear as he saw this.  
He could have known what that guy was going to do with that thing and why they left his bare back facing the open room.

"You can´t be serious! I will call the patrol right after I get out of here, I will call the Drej on you, you bloody bastard!" Preed growled.

The Pikad laughed: "Hahaha well that´s what you will do? They will have just another evening with me and a trash card game, but if you insist do me the favor and invite them, I must thank you!"

The Pikad unrolled the whip and swung it through the air. The other end hit the middle of the Akrennian's back.  
The pain was intense. He shouted at the top of his lungs as the white-hot lash split the skin on his back. His flesh burnt like hell.

"How did I end up like this? I don´t get it" he shouted.

The Pikad hit him a couple of times more and the welts turned red and formed thin dark red runlets streaming down his back.  
Preed felt a rising heat inside of his head.

"Why, I don´t know how I deserve something like this. Was it for my back stabbing action on the _Titan_? I only wanted to save my life!" he thought to himself while tears began to stream down his face.

After about ten more hits, the Pikad made it an end and came to him to see if his victim changed his mind.  
He bowed down to look at the whiny face looking up at him.

"Now, did we learn anything? Are you ready to follow every wish of your owner now? Or do you still claw on to your silly Akrennian pride which has led you so far?!"

This made Preed angry. Being Akrennian was all he ever had in his life, even when all other things were gone. Others should at least have some respect for that! "And you, do you know what 'Pride' is?" Preed growled.

The Pikad turned and passed behind him again.  
"Seems to sound like a 'No', what do you guys think?" he asked his pals.  
They nodded and agreed with their boss.  
"Pull down his pants!" he demanded. "If there is one way to break someone, this is it."

Preed looked up suddenly: "What? Um no, I don´t want you to do that!"

The assistants came to him, untying the belt rope and one of them pulled down his trousers.

"Stop that! How dare you even think about that. You ugly incompetent Ch'amozeas!" he said with a face turning red slowly.

One of the Pikad assistant laughed: "What did he say?"

The other one shrugged: "Don´t know, I don´t speak Akrennian!"

Both turned around and went back, leaving more room for their boss.  
Preed had the worst thing in mind, but when he felt another ripping pain, he was glad it just was the same thing the Pikad did to him at the upper part of his body.  
An embarrassing feeling climbed up in Preed's throat, while screaming after each one of the hits he felt striking his legs and back.

His face was red. Red of pain, but also caused by the feeling to be exposed infront of these people who didn´t show one bit of respect.  
After some more hits, he was so weak, he sank down, the metal chain was all which kept him from dropping to the ground.  
The Pikad commanded his assistants to get him dressed again and put him into one of the cells to recover.


	5. Chapter 5

**Broken Spirit**

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**..**

Chapter 5 - Cold Night

..

After they dressed him again, it didn´t take a minute when his clothes turned red.  
He was unconscious when they got him free from the cuffs he was hanging on.  
One of the assistants took his feet. The other one grabbed him by his neck.  
They dragged him into a lower part of the building.  
It was dark in the hallway, which was lined with many doors.  
One of the doors fell open and the assistants let Preed's body sink to the ground.  
He laid on the cold hard floor when they left, closing the door right behind him.  
He was free from the metal collar and cuffs, but not free at all.

..

It was black.  
Only a wet and mud-like smell was in his nose after he woke up slowly.  
Preed tried to sit up but his back still hurt and it felt like his skin would tear with each move.  
His butt and his legs also hurt like hell and he thought, better not making any move again.  
But laying on the cold wet ground wasn't such a good option either.  
He was weeping slightly even though he didn´t want to.  
But the massive pain of his skin didn´t leave any room for other feelings.

'At least they gave me my clothes back again' he thought while trying to creep up into one of the dryer corners of the room.

One rip crossed over his shoulders and the shirt he wore- white when they dressed him- now showing a red line right at the place above the rip.  
His left wing-membrane was also torn.  
An Akrennian's wing membranes are very sensitive and when torn, they wouldn't be able to recover.  
It didn't matter much because those prehistoric leftovers had no function anymore, but it did hurt an Akrennian's pride.  
The wound did hurt pretty much even though it didn't bleed like the scratches which now covered his back and legs.

Curled up in one of the corners, his arms wrapped around his body he was waiting for the end.  
It didn´t matter anymore how it would look like, but there had to be an end.  
It looked like they finally did it.  
They broke his spirit, his pride.  
But not for the god's sake to be nice to the guy who would finally buy him.  
But because of the fear that struck with each hit.  
Preed tried to calm down, but he was still breathing fast in shock about his situation.  
He always envied those people of his own species who were born with stripes.  
But now as he thought about the many scars which would soon look similar like stripes, he didn't want to be reminded where he got them from.  
His body shivered but he couldn´t tell if it was the fear or the coldness surrounding him.  
Maybe it was a toxic mixture of both.  
He didn´t know what to do.  
Preed was tired, but still too scared to finally fall asleep.  
All he could do was wait.  
This was a place of horror.  
He could hear screams from outside of the room.  
'Looks like that mad guy found another victim he can terrify' he thought while wiping some tears off of his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Broken Spirit**

**..**

**..**

Chapter 6 - On the market

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The night had passed.  
The room remained dark because no daylight had a chance to climb into any slit of the door.  
But Preed knew it was supposed to be day again because he could hear the footsteps outside.  
It didn´t take long and the three Pikads were there opening the door.  
The bare look of them let him shiver and he tried to huddle deeper into the corner in which he was still sitting. It did not help because he already touched the walls with his back.  
They made some direct steps into his direction.

"Hey Boss, look how he behaves now! It looks he became a terrified dog" one of the assistants laughed.

"Don´t talk nonsense, get him up and put the cuffs on again" the boss Pikad said.

Even though Preed was free from any cuffs at the moment, he didn´t dare to defend while they pulled his weak and thin body up.  
He didn´t even dare to speak.  
Even though it was hard for him, the fear of them continuing yesterday's procedure wasn´t worth the risk.  
They grabbed his hands and put the metal cuffs on.  
The metal was clean. At least something.  
Also the metal collar found its way to his neck again.

"Do you think this guy will make any more trouble in the future?" one of the assistants asked their boss.  
Preed looked away while they were talking about him.  
"Nah, I don´t think so. But if, I am sure his owner drops him once again at our door, wouldn´t he?!" the Boss Pikad said, grabbing Preed's snout and putting the metal cuff around it.  
He didn´t dare to look at his eyes.

It didn´t take long for the slave trader to arrive.  
He entered the house and was led by the smaller assistant to his "good" he dropped there one day before.  
Preed stood at a wall, straight, not paying any attention to what happened.

"He doesn´t look like changed?!" the fuzzy slave trader asked in a confused way.  
"Oh he did!" the Boss Pikad entered the room. "He just doesn´t show it by his appearance.  
When we broke his will, he didn´t talk since yesterday. You can be sure, he will do as you wish. And if he doesn´t, just show him the rules and he will"  
The slave trader nodded and gave him the money.  
"I will see if you have done a good job. And if not, I drop him here again" he said with a grin.

Then he grabbed the rope which was tied to the snout cuff and both left the house.  
The trader noticed how easy Preed did follow him. He didn´t act like that before and this should be a good sign considering the work of his friend.  
"Looks like he did a good job with you. I am terribly sorry you had to go through this, but you didn´t want to learn the easy way, didn´t you?" the slave trader said.  
Preed looked down to the ground.  
"Now I will sell you to the highest bidder. And you can be sure there are many people who always wanted an Akrennian slave!"  
Preed still looked away but he had a slightly angry face expression.  
'How can someone be proud of owning an Akrennian slave?' he thought.

They reached a different district. One of those he has seen before due to his visit on _Soros_.  
There was a huge place, a slaver standing on it with his "goods" explaining them and many people down surrounding it and placing bids.  
Preed shook his head when he saw this and figured he should perhaps just follow the guy.

"Don´t be so cocky, or I will push you!" the slave trader said, grabbing the rope directly below his snout and pulling him up onto the platform.  
When they were both on the form, many people surrounded them very quickly.  
"Looks like my plan works" the slaver whispered to Preed.  
He just rolled his eyes and took a straight and proud pose because he didn´t want to make it easy to his foe.  
The slave trader began to speak and the crowd did listen and placed the first bids.  
"Welcome people, here you can get a rare and tamed Akrennian slave! He arrived freshly a couple of days and got schooled professionally, so you won't be disappointed how good he will carry out your orders!" the slave trader began.  
At the words 'professionally schooled' Preed growled and tried to speak out his mind which ended with a grumble in different tones.  
The people didn´t bid much because to them it more appeared to be a joking number and not really a serious selling.  
The slave trader recognized it, so he tried a different technique.

"He is not the strongest Akrennian, but who of you ever did own any Akrennian before?! It is a rare find, no matter the condition!" The bids went a bit higher.  
Preed crossed his arms and turned his back to the crowd.  
'I am not that bad. If I wouldn´t have been carried, pushed and pulled through the whole galaxy only to end up at the dungeon of a predator, I would fairly be in a much better condition!" he thought.

One bidder seemed to be deeply interested in this slave.  
Preed wasn´t really interested in looking at the different bidders, but the slave trader got an eye for this and clearly noticed that the one who always placed a new bid in, was female.  
She wore a black-and-red robe with a hood nearly covering her whole head.  
The slave trader saw a chance to get good money for his "good" now if there was serious interest.  
He pulled on the rope which made Preed stumble forward to show his frontal view.

"If there is any female interested in this neat guy, you surely won't be unhappy with him as well since he is well-endowed so grab him before he is gone!"  
The slave trader let out a small laugh while Preed had a shocked look on his face and blushed.  
He made a few steps right behind the slave trader who was much smaller than himself.  
He truly had to bend into a ball to hide his entire body, but this embarrassing situation was enough for the Akrennian.

The people suddenly laughed and the slave trader turned around with an angry glare on his face.  
Preed turned his blushed face away from him, but right at the moment he felt a hurting at the right side of his face and he fell onto his knees.  
"What the fuck!? You go to embarrass me in front of my customers?!" the slave trader shouted angrily.  
It didn´t change, and the people still were laughing.  
You also could hear someone saying "This is the most funny slave trader show the galaxy has ever seen"  
Preed was kneeing in front of the slave trader, still not daring to prize a look at the trader.

There they were again, those feelings he had while sitting in the dark cell covered with blood.  
"Look into my eyes while I am talking to you!" the slave trader shouted.  
The people now stopped laughing and watched the scenery silently.  
He grabbed the rope and pulled Preed's head up into his direction.  
In fear, the Akrennian did what the trader said.  
He finally looked into his eyes, scared.  
And it also looked like there was some mercy in the eyes of the slave trader which blinked up like a small flame.  
If someone could make a dramatically sentimental face expression, it was Preed.  
The slave trader shook his head and raised his arm once again while the Akrennian still was kneeing in front of him.  
He quivered and hold his arms up in a self defending pose.  
Tears started to drip down his face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Broken Spirit**

**..**

**..**

Chapter 7 - Not for this reason

..

The female in the robe now made her way on the platform between the slaver and his victim.  
Preed still kneed in front of the slave trader, tears rolling down his face expecting the next hit.  
But after a second, nothing happened and he looked up to see what was going on.  
The people surrounding the place watched in astonishment.  
The female customer who seemed to be interested to buy the slave stood in front of the trader and held the wrist of the slave trader tightly, preventing him to deal another hit to Preed's head.

"I will take him! Are 5000 credits enough for you?" the female asked.  
"Um, yes but..." the slave trader was shocked: "why do you come up here anyway?"  
"Because it´s enough! I would prefer to get my slave alive and not nearly dead!" she said with a grin. She put her hand into a pocket inside of her robe and pulled out a pack of money.  
"Here you go, it´s all I have and I won't pay more for this sorry ass of an Akrennian slave," Preed looked up at her.  
'First she saved me from being punished even more and now she talks about me like any other idiot. I don´t know what she does want from me'  
"If you want him so bad, why can´t you pay more?" the slave trader asked.  
"Is that a serious question?" the female asked: "Look at him, it looks like he has been pulled through the drain and back, and you really ask more than 5000 credits?"  
The slave trader crossed his arms.  
"Or what do you think guys.." the female turned to the crowd: "Don´t you think 5000 credits is far too much for this rip-off of a slave?"  
The crowd partly nodded, some looked to the ground but you could see they thought she was right.  
You also could hear some people say "She has a good point" and "The trader tries to scam her!"

"Ok ok, you get him for 4000 credits if you take him here and now!" the trader said.  
The female walked up to him again: "That´s a deal!" taking a part of the money back and shaking his hand.  
She grabbed the rope and pulled Preed down from the platform.  
He followed her, still not sure about her reasons.

They left the crowd and at a more quiet place, she took off the snout cuff.  
Preed didn´t say a word to her. Since he had no good feeling about her, he didn´t even look at her.  
They started walking again and made their way through the long corridors to the docking places.  
They made their way directly to the hangars.  
'Looks like she has a ship somewhere, oh well I don´t wanna go there,' he thought calmly.

Suddenly he sank down to his knees and started whining.  
The female stopped and turned around to see him not able to go another step.  
"Oh please, what is it now?! I could understand your acting at the market, but here now? I haven´t done anything to you!" the female said.  
"It´s not the thing you have done...it´s the things you will do!" he shouted.  
The female crossed her arms.  
"I don´t want to be your sex slave!" he murmured.  
His face blushed and he looked away.  
The female burst into laughter.  
It was so hard, she nearly fell over and held her belly.  
"Oh my god, you don´t really think that, do you? Just to let you know, I didn´t buy you for _that _reason!" she said.  
Preed looked at her with a puzzled facial expression still his head turned away from her.  
"Did you think I only was interested because that idiot said you have something in your pants? Poor guy...you should try to use your brain more often."  
Preed turned his look to the ground.  
"Now wipe off your tears and come on. We must reach the ship. My captain will leave very soon." the female said.  
Preed stood up and followed her still unsure about her.

"But why did you buy me anyway, if it was not for _that_ reason?" he continued.  
Both were walking through the hangar now.  
"My captain allowed me to get a slave to help me with the work. She is very polite and nice to us who work for her."

She was still pulling on the rope which connected both hand cuffs with each other.  
"Your captain is a female?" Preed was surprised. There were not many females to become captain.  
"Yes, she is a Mantrin and runs a small delivery business. She doesn´t own a huge crew. Only a navigator to reach the destination, me and my sister."  
Preed stopped which nearly made the female stumble because she didn´t expect it.  
"Wait! A Mantrin and her navigator? Let me guess...her name is Stith and the navigator's name isn´t supposed to be Gune?" Preed stood there like a block of ice.  
The female had a surprised look on her face.  
"Yes, ...exactly, but how could you know..."  
"Um, was my most logical guess I would say..." he shrugged.  
"You don´t know them, do you?" the female said with a slightly curious look.  
"I have heard about them before and I don´t mind to say, it was not my wish to end up with them."

The female started to become impatient.  
"You have sorrows...we have to hurry now, she does not wait for us, so get your legs moving, or I will show you how similar I can act compared to that slave trader!" she snarled.  
"Gonna follow you each step!" Preed said and ran after her.  
"But please! Can you hide me on your ship? I am sure that your Captain won't be lucky when she sees me."  
The female turned her head to him while she was running.  
"And how do you want to work then? I guess you can´t make yourself invisible. By the way, why do you think, she will hate you so much?"  
Preed laughed slightly: "Hah, well I know how she is. I have seen her acting in the past."

Soon they reached the ship.  
It was the same ship he worked at while he was first mate.  
The old memories crept up in Preed's mind and his heart sank.  
He knew, the cranky Mantrin he once knew as 'Stith' would recognize him in one second.  
The metal plate and the torn ear made his look unique enough.  
"Do you have a scarf or something?" he asked.  
The female reached into a pocket and pulled out a silky scarf, reaching it over to the Akrennian.  
With a small "Thanks" he grabbed it and wrapped it around his head covering the back head and his ears.  
Now he felt a little safer and hoped the Mantrin wouldn't recognize him at the first sight.

When they boarded the _Valkyrie_ he didn´t know what he had to expect.  
"The captain won't have any time now, so I will show you your sleeping place."  
Preed followed, not saying a word.  
He was led to a room which once he remembered, was Akima's room.  
Now it was the room of the female.  
"Here I shall stay? With YOU?" he said kinda confused.  
"You are my slave, and because of that, you will stay with me for the first time. We will see how it develops. When I can trust you enough, you will get your own room."

Preed was led to a bed with some old and familiar things on it.  
"The Captain said, this stuff once was owned by another Akrennian guy who once worked with her. He was killed because he betrayed the crew and now she had no idea what to do with the stuff. I convinced her to keep them for when I get my first slave."  
Preed sat down onto the bed and couldn´t resist to grab his old stuff and look what was left.  
There was his old vest and sun blocker hat. Also a communicator with integrated clock and some old books.  
He grabbed the hat and replaced it.  
"You look much better with the hat than with the scarf." the female grinned.  
"Thanks, it´s like I haven´t worn it forever!" Preed said, grinning back at her.  
"Forever? Was this your hat once? Are you..." the female was shocked.  
"What? Um..no! I just meant, I had a hat like this before but lost it sadly. I am glad I got another one now."

The female came to him and took away his hand cuffs.  
"Do you want to change your clothes? They are covered with blood and should be washed."  
Preed looked at her confusedly.  
"If you go out of the room while I change my clothes, I would be glad if you let me."  
She went out and closed the door from outside.  
Preed did as she wanted and changed his clothes.  
He was right about to pull over a new shirt when the female came in again.  
She saw the bloody stripes on his back.  
"What the...well it would explain a lot." she said going over to her desk and grabbing for a tube of salve.  
Preed turned around and sat down.  
"You could give me a little more time for changing."  
She went over to him pulling up his shirt again.  
"Why, do you feel bad when I see your body? I am sorry for what they have done to you, but it won't change anything." she said while rubbing the salve on his wounds.  
"No, not because of this, it´s just I don´t even know you."  
She put away the salve and took off her robe.  
Preed's eyes widened in astonishment after he saw what a pretty person appeared from beneath the robe.  
It was an Akrennian female with black skin color and dark brown markings.  
The horn on her nose was in sandy beige color.  
Her snout ridges were in pure red and her eyes were yellow with orange irises.  
She wore a casual worker's outfit with wide pants and a wide shirt, and a tight belt around her waist supporting her silhouette.  
"My name is Dala, and how about you?"  
Preed didn´t know what to say. He just thought, it wasn´t wise to go by his true name and when Stith found it out, she would put him into the airlock in one breath.

"Um, my name...well, I have a name...my name is Dex." he said.  
The female grinned. "Fine, I will get your clothes to the wash." she said, grabbing the clothes.  
After she left the room and locked the door, Preed went over to the desk, grabbing the salve again and putting a bit of it on his butt and legs.  
The cold salve relieved most of the pain and sped up the healing process.  
"Oh this is the best feeling for a long time so far..." he purred.  
Suddenly the door opened again and another female stood right in front of the male Akrennian who had his pants down.  
"Oh my god, the hell are you doing there you pervert!" the female shouted.  
It was another Akrennian, who seemed to be a couple years younger than Dala.  
She wore a tight belly free top and short pants and heavy boots.  
Her skin color was dark brown and her markings were black. Just like the opposite of her sister. Her snout ridges were blue and she wore 2 horns on her nose in dark blue color.  
Preed turned around and was shocked, pulling his pants up fast.  
"Who are you now? Where is Dala?" he asked confusedly with a blushed face.  
The young Akrennian girl went out again and let out a scream.  
Preed stood there now, wishing the salve would dry fast into his skin, so he could do something to prevent the situation from escalating and control the damage done.

Dala came back and had a confused expression on her face.  
"What the hell have you done to my sister?"  
Preed just looked at her.  
After a few seconds he finally found some words: "Well I used the salve to put it on my other wounds and she has seen it. Do you think it was nice for me to show her my bloody butt?" he said, crossing his arms.  
"So the wounds on your back were not the only ones you have?" Dala asked.  
"Guess what, no they aren´t!" he said sarcastically.  
"Why didn´t you tell me? I would have helped you out with it." she explained.  
"Oh yeah, and you aren´t just eager to get a close look at my junk?!" he said with a grin on his face.  
"You know I should give you a slap for this?! How often do I have to say, I didn´t buy you off because I am interested in you for _THESE_ reasons!" she screeched.  
"What a pity. Now when I look at you, I wouldn´t even defend." He grinned and raised his eye ridges.  
"Don´t step too far, or I will tell our captain about this," she said with a wagging finger.  
"No, please don´t do that to me!" Preed said, putting on his vest and sat down on his bed.


End file.
